Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Planning Department

 

TO:

David L. Corliss

FROM:

Sandra L. Day

CC:

Debbie Van Saun

Date:

February 21, 2007

RE:

Agenda Item

 

 

Please include the following item on the City Commission consent agenda for consideration at the February 27, 2007 meeting:

 

Establishment of a fee for an independent review of new telecommunication towers

 

Per City Code, Article 5, Section 20-529(7) new telecommunication towers require independent  review by a consulting engineer to determine if a new telecommunication tower meets the requirements of the City Code. Staff solicited information from several engineering firms indicating they have previous work experience in the communication engineering and RF fields and a range of costs for providing such services.

 

Firms Contacted and Responded

 

Staff sent a letter to engineering firms in the metro area requesting an opinion of a reasonable market based price for the analysis contemplated by the Code.  Mary Baker, Utilities Department Engineer, and Kristina Blevins, Legal Services Department Law Clerk, helped identify the engineering firms in this area that may have the requisite knowledge to perform the analysis.  Written requests were made to several firms to provide qualifications to demonstrate familiarity with the regulations and requirements and an estimated cost of such services.

 

Black & Veatch, Overland Park

Burns & McDonnell, Kansas City, Missouri

URS Corporation,  Overland Park

HDR, Kansas City, Missouri

Olsson & Associates, Overland Park

TranSystems, Kansas City, Missouri

 

Additional contact was made following a request by Selective Site Consultants on behalf of T-Mobile and included Comsearch of Ashburn, VA and LLC, McLean, VA. Only one of these firms contacted staff for additional information; neither responded to the request for provision of qualifications and fee for services.

 

Staff received responses from:  Burns & McDonnell, Olsson Associates, and TranSystems.  Black & Veatch declined to provide an estimate because it provides services to wireless carriers, including services directly related to the location of new towers.  Black & Veatch declined to provide assistance to the City in performing studies reviewing proposed site location plans because it might present a perceived or real conflict of interest for the firm. 

 

The following firms would be used as a list of pre-certified independent consultants:

 

Burns & McDonnell, Kansas City, Missouri

Olsson & Associates, Overland Park

TranSystems, Kansas City, Missouri

 

Identification of Firms and Review Process Previously Used

 

Following the adoption of the new code, two applications were submitted to the City for consideration of new communication towers. To date, a specific fee has not yet been established for this review procedure. Olsson and Associates provided a test case for the independent review process in order to complete the review of the two recent tower requests. A fee range was identified by the firm that would depend upon the amount of regulatory review that would be required. A contract was executed between Olsson and Associates (the independent review firm) and the City to outline the scope of services, fee range, and time frame for review. The maximum fee recommended by the independent review firm was provided by the applicant. This fee was then deposited in to a city account to be used for billing purposes.

 

City Code also requires that an accounting shall be kept of the independent review and that any unused funds shall be returned to the applicant.

 

A bill and accounting of services is expected to be provided by Olsson and Associates and fees shall be paid from the amount deposited on behalf of the applicant. Any remaining funds will be returned to the applicant. The applicant may ask for an accounting of the review. Final process decisions and actions will still need to be determined to provide the smoothest level of services.

 

Fee recommendation

The estimates to provide the services ranged from $5,800 to $10,000.  Two of the three firms estimated the analysis would cost $10,000. Staff recommends the City Commission establish the fee at $10,000 because the Code provides that unexpended funds shall be refunded to the applicant.  If staff finds the fee is too low or too high, it can be adjusted at a later date.  Additional applications are being prepared and at least one new application has been submitted for the March Planning Commission meeting.

 

Action Recommended: Establish an additional review fee of $10,000 for Special Use Permits for new communication towers to be made payable to the City of Lawrence at the time of application.